by Mac Flynn
"Can you tell me about it?" he requested.
I clasped my hands in my lap and took a deep breath. "I. . .I came back in here after talking with Stuart in the hall. I heard a noise in my bedroom and went to look. A. . .a dark man stood near my bed. He turned to me, and I tried to run away but I guess I tripped over my feet. The man flew at me, and the next thing I remember was waking up in here."
"Could you describe this man?" he asked me.
I faced Max and nodded. "He looked almost exactly like you."
Max leaned back and pursed his lips. "So you've seen this impostor, as well."
I studied him for a moment before I nodded. "I think so, but I have a few questions for you, too," I told him.
He smiled. "You're probably wondering how I'm sitting here with you rather than in the brig. It's because the cameras caught the shadow on tape moving into the room while I was in said brig. The captain said there wasn't enough evidence against me to hold me, so he released me in the understanding that I was not to leave the ship until the investigation was over."
A smile slipped onto my lips. "So you're under ship arrest?" I teased.
"Yes, and the captain also requested that I be in the presence of someone during all my waking hours," he told me as he studied me with a sly smile. "I thought maybe you'd like to be my chaperon and let me show you around the ship like I promised."
"You told Charlie to show me around the ship yesterday, and he showed me most of it," I reminded him.
"Charlie's a good guide for the proper face of the place, but I'd like to show you the other side to the ship," he explained.
I frowned. "Is this anything illegal?"
He chuckled. "Not illegal, per se, but very much against the rules." He stood and offered his hand to me. "That is, if you care for an adventure."
My thoughts wandered to the book and its strange, adventuresome allure. I started and whipped my head to the owner of said book, and then to the nightstand. The book was gone. Again.
Archer frowned and dropped his hand. "Is something wrong?" he asked me.
I plastered a wide smile on my face and shook my head. "Oh, no, nothing at all. I-um. . .I just thought I'd left something important on the nightstand, that's all."
"Did you want me to help you look for it? Perhaps it's in the drawer," he suggested as he leaned down and reached for the small, round handle.
"No!" I leapt at him and crashed into him. He tumbled to the floor and I atop him as I slipped off the bed. We ended up a tangled mess of limbs and apologies.
"I'm sorry. Ouch! Let me move my-ouch!" I suggested as I jabbed him in the face with my elbow.
He grabbed his wounded nose, but through his fingers I could see a smile. "You have a very powerful arm," he commented.
"And your leg is very long," I returned as I extracted both my legs from one of his.
In a few moments we were separated and both seated on the floor opposite each other. He chuckled, and I tilted my head to one side and raised an eyebrow.
"What's so funny?" I asked him.
"I didn't realize you were so adventuresome inside the bedroom," he teased.
I rolled my eyes. "That was very childish."
"This isn't."
He leaned forward, wrapped his arm around my waist to pull us together, and pressed his lips against mine. The passionate, possessive kiss engulfed me in sensual pleasure. A warm heat rushed through my body, and I couldn't help but moan into the kiss.
He chuckled into the kiss and broke us apart. His eyes were lit with an undeniable fire, and there was a sly smile on his lips.
"I'll take it you liked that," he commented. I frowned and pushed him backwards so he landed on his rear, but the smile on his face didn't disappear. "You must have really liked it," he teased.
"No, I did not!" I snapped. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. "You didn't ask my permission to do that?"
"What kind of billionaire playboy would I be if I asked a lovely woman for a kiss?" he pointed out.
"A polite one!" I retorted.
"Then you don't know many billionaire playboys," he commented. He climbed to his feet and held out his hand. "But why don't we get going on our tour of the ship?"
I glared from the hand to the face of its owner. "What makes you think I'm going to go with you after that?" I questioned him.
"Would you rather stay on the floor all day?" he returned.
"Maybe I would prefer it," I retorted.
"Would you prefer the infirmary for the rest of the trip?" he wondered.
I furrowed my brow. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"I could tell the captain that you're ill and highly contagious. He'd have to quarantine you," he explained.
My eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare," I challenged him.
He pulled out his phone and dialed a number before he put the receiver to his ear. "Hello? Captain John, it's Archer. Miss Johnson is awake and it seems she's highly contagious-"
I dropped my arms and sat up straight. "I am not!" I yelled.
He put his hand on the speaker and grinned down at me. "So you'll come with me?"
"No, I'll say you're lying," I snapped.
"The captain's an old friend of mine. He's bound to believe me more than you," he pointed out.
"With how much trouble you've been in lately?" I reminded him.
I almost regretted my words when he winced. Almost.
"Touche, but you know I won't take 'no' for an answer," he persisted.
I pursed my lips in thought, and after a moment I whipped my head away and waved my hand at him. "Fine, I'll go with you."
"That's good to hear," he replied. He removed his hand and coughed. "Sorry about the interruption, captain. It seems the patient has made a sudden recovery." He paused and furrowed his brow. "Well, she says she saw my doppelganger and fainted. In her bedroom. I'll have her write one for you and we'll drop it off at the office. No problem. Bye." He hung up and pocketed the phone. "The captain would like you to write down what you remember and drop off the statement at the security room. We should do that before we leave."
I frowned. "I don't understand you at all."
He raised an eyebrow. "What's there not to understand? I'm not that complicated, am I?"
"You change from serious to ridiculous and back again so quickly I can barely follow you," I commented.
He smiled and offered me his hand. "I don't want it to prey on your mind during our fun." I pursed my lips, but took his hand. He hefted me to my feet and studied me with soft eyes. "Besides, I don't want any worries to mar those beautiful features."
I couldn't stop the blush that appeared on my cheeks, so I spun around so my back faced him. "W-well, let's get this statement over with and get going."
CHAPTER 12
I wrote out what I remembered and we delivered the statement to the security office which was the long room with the desks. We dropped the paper off with the front desk man. Archer leaned on the man's desk and slyly smiled at him.
"Any luck on catching the real culprit in this case?" Archer asked the security guard.
The security guard returned his sly smile with a grin. "If we need you back in the brig we'll be sure to send an escort for you," the man quipped.
"I guess I asked for that one," Archer commented as he pushed off from the desk.
"Yep," the man agreed.
"Well, good luck anyway," Archer returned.
Archer grasped my shoulders and turned me towards the door. We left the room, but paused in the hallway. Archer rubbed his hands together and looked down both ends of the hall.
"Now what should we do first?" he wondered.
"Nothing illegal," I reminded him.
He faked an aghast face. "What sort of man do you take me for?"
"Nothing illegal," I reiterated.
Archer dropped the act and chuckled. "I suppose I asked for that, too."
"Yep," I agreed.
"Well, since you don't know
what to ask for I'll ask you something." He leaned down and I felt his breath against the soft skin of my neck. I closed my eyes and shuddered as his words passed over my flesh. "Do you like chocolate?"
I blinked and turned around so quickly I nearly smacked the back of my head against his nose. "Chocolate?"
He leaned back and smiled. "Yes, chocolate."
"What kind of a seedy underside has chocolate?" I questioned him.
He chuckled. "According to the cruise liners it's the seediest, but let me show you."
He led me down the hall and deep into the bowels of the ship. The lower levels held the steerage class cabins and a few large rooms for dances and other social occasions. There was also a separate dining area and kitchen for them, and it being close to the dinner hour there was a lively business in the dining space. However, it was to the kitchen that Archer guided me.
The space was large and furnished with enough stainless steel to build a small skyscraper. Several men and women in white uniforms stood over hot stoves or hurried between tables adding ingredients or putting food on plates for the hungry populace. A bell rang constantly to tell of a ready order.
We skirted the chaos and went to a far corner of the kitchen. A man stood beside a large steel door with a clipboard in hand and a frown on his face. He was as short as me and stalky. The man wore the white outfit, but with a cook hat atop his head. A mustache rounded out his features.
"Good morning, Chef," Archer greeted him.
The man looked up and his scowl deepened. "What do you want?" he snapped.
"Oh, the usual, plus two," Archer requested.
"Can't you see that I'm busy?" Chef growled.
"Yes. You're so extraordinarily busy that you're checking your supply sheets every day at this hour," Archer teased.
A smile curled onto the man's lips and he lowered the clipboard. "You start teasing my fooling the higher-ups and I'll cut you off," he warned Archer.
Archer placed a hand on the small of my back and pushed me forward. "And just when I've brought you a new customer?"
Chef's frown returned, and with earnest. "You know I don't like too many people knowing about my extracurricular activities."
"She's safe. I'll vouch for her," Archer promised.
Chef scoffed and set aside his clipboard. "From what I hear that isn't such a safe bet nowadays."
"I can assure you my criminal activities are vastly overblown. The most I've ever done is stolen candy from a baby, and bought some off you," Archer insisted.
Chef rolled his eyes, but a ghost of a smile returned to his lips. "All right, she can come, but-" he looked me over, "-I don't think she's going to like being in my office."
"She can handle it long enough to pick out what she wants. Believe me," Archer assured him.
"Well, all right. Follow me."
Chef opened the large steel door to his right and revealed the inside to be a large freezer. He stepped inside, and at Archer's direction so did we. Chef closed the door behind us, and I was relieved to see it opened from the inside, and that there were lights overhead. The room was filled with metal shelves, and on those shelves were stiff, frost-covered cardboard boxes filled with frozen foods.
"Now what would the lady like?" Chef wondered as he guided us to the rear of the large room.
"Why don't you show her your poisons and she can decide," Archer suggested.
"Fair enough," Chef agreed.
We reached the farthest rear shelves. Chef took down the front row of boxes and revealed two long, low boxes that each stretched for four feet. Their lids were attached to the rear of the boxes so he could lift them like crayon box lids. My eyes widened as I beheld column upon column of candy bars, soft candies, chocolate, licorice, and more. The variety, though not the quantity, put some candy stores to shame.
"Chef has the best variety of contraband candy on the ship," Archer explained.
"And at the cheapest price," Chef added.
I looked at the men as though they were insane. "'Contraband candy?'" I repeated.
"The ship rules don't allow for carry-on food," Archer explained.
"And that's where I come in," Chef interrupted. He puffed out his chest and grinned. "I make sure the guests don't go hungry for want of a good, cheap candy bar. For a small fee, of course."
"Of course," Archer chuckled. He turned to me. "Choose whatever you like."
I raised an eyebrow. "And this stuff is safe to eat?"
"As safe as anything in these kitchens," Chef assured me.
"That's a pretty low bar," Archer teased.
Chef frowned at him. "Careful, or I'll revoke your buying privileges."
Archer held up his hands. "You win. I can't go a day without your nutty bars."
I browsed the selection and picked out a couple of king-sized candy bars.
"An excellent choice, miss, and if the young gentleman with you is buying I'd recommend an expensive chocolate," Chef suggested. He picked out a couple of small bags of chocolates. "These come from Italy, and those Italians don't skimp on their chocolate like the American companies."
"Sadly, that is true," Archer agreed.
"Then I'll take two bags of those," I told him.
Chef smiled and bowed his head to me. "Thank you, miss. Now that'll be fifty dollars, cash only."
I glanced down at the little packages in my hand. "Fifty dollars? That much?"
"There's a packing fee, storage fee, and danger fee," Chef explained to me as Archer handed a crisp bill over to him. "You see, if I get caught then at best I'm reprimanded, and at worst I'm out of a job. This is insurance for me should the worst happen."
Archer set his hands on my shoulder and chuckled. "I wouldn't be surprised if you had the captain on your long list of customers."
Chef stood straight and coughed into his fist. "I'm afraid I don't discuss my customer list to anyone, now if you're done I'd like to get out of here before I freeze my assets off."
Chef led us out of the freezer with my armful of goodies, and those were duly placed into a take-away bag for easy concealment. We bid our farewells to Chef and proceeded up the levels of the ship.
"Try to refrain from eating the candies in public," Archer advised me as we climbed a flight of stairs. "There are some of the crew who frown on Chef's capitalist tendencies and would like nothing better than to see him be put out of business."
"Do you think the captain really patronizes his-um, establishment?" I asked him.
Archer chuckled. "Let's just say I've been in the captain's quarters, and his collection of sweets is very fine." We reached the top of the stairs and he caught hold of my arm. "Speaking of fine, there's something else I'd like to show you."
"A contraband shoe store?" I guessed.
"Not quite. It's a view, and one that can't be beat anywhere else on the ship," he explained.
I frowned. "And is this view as allowed as the candy?"
"More or less, but believe me when I say it's worth the risk," he assured me.
"You expect people to believe you quite a lot, Mr. Archer," I mused.
Archer grasped my hands in his and looked into my eyes. "Please, call me Max," he requested.
I felt a faint blush appear on my cheeks. I shook it off, but I couldn't shake off my smile. "Only if you call me Jane," I told him.
Max smiled and offered me his arm. "It's a deal. Now shall we go?"
I accepted his arm and nodded. "Let's."
We remained below deck and Max guided me to the rear of the ship. We reached the three-quarter mark when we stumbled into a familiar face, or rather, she stumbled into me. The person flew around the corner so quickly she rammed into me. We both fell backwards onto our rears, and the woman glared at me.
"Why don't you-you!" Renee exclaimed.
"Hi. . ." I grumbled as I climbed to my feet. Max gave me some assistance and then helped Renee.
"What's the chance of meeting you here, Renee?" Max commented with a smile as he moved back to stand by
my side.
She brushed the creases from her fashionable long skirt and blouse, and smiled sweetly at him. "To be honest I was just looking for you. I thought we might have lunch together."
"Perhaps another day. I'm taking this young lady on a tour of the ship," Max told her.
"What does she need another tour for? She saw the ship yesterday with Charlie," Renee told him.
"Charlie's a good fellow, but I'd rather entrust this task to myself," Max replied.
She frowned and turned her dark eyes on me. "Would you mind terribly if I took your guide from you?"
I stood straight and glared at her. "I would mind terribly. Max has-"
"Oh, it's Max now?" Renee retorted. Her eyes flickered between us and her look darkened. "Well, I can see when I'm not wanted. Good day."
She spun on her heels and marched back the way she came. I was relieved until I glanced up at Max's face. His lips were pursed as he watched her disappear around the corner.
My heart sank as I regretted my harsh words to Renee. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so mean to her."
He shook himself and turned to me with a smile. "No, I wasn't thinking about that. I guess I just got lost in thought. How about we get going before we lose the best part of the day?"
Max led me down the hall, but I wasn't going to let him off.
"You weren't just thinking," I argued as he guided me further towards the rear of the ship.
"I was just thinking," he argued.
I grasped his arm and stopped us so I could catch his gaze. "What's wrong?"
He pursed his lips. "Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but Renee is a little-well, she's a little possessive of me," he commented.
I snorted. "A blind man could see it."
"She's also a very vengeful woman," he added. "I've known her to ruin another woman's white dress with white wine because I showed too much attention to her."
I smiled and looped my arm through his to pull him down the hall. "Then I'll just make sure not to wear any white dresses, but I do wonder why you hang out with her."
A smile graced his lips. "It isn't so much as I hang with her so much as I can't escape her."
"Well, show me this off-limits spot and maybe we'll escape her together," I suggested.
He bowed his head and took the lead. "That would be my pleasure."
CHAPTER 13
Max guided me to the very back of the ship. The suites and cabins changed to storage rooms and cabins for the crew. The white walls and hard floors were not so clean, and the place was eerily quiet.
